Not sure if I believe in God. Makes me feel so uneasy

[doyouknowhim]

Not being sure either way

I have questions I've never got an answer to

Such as that I get this life is temporary, if you believe in God, Christ, etc. As you'll have everlasting life if granted it

I asked this and was given an answer along the lines with 'the person with cancer will suffer now. That's true. Some people will meet horrific ends. But, it's like looking back at something awful and thinking 'I thought at the time I'd never get through it'. And there you are, in eternal heaven. So I get that... if I leave out the bit where surely you wouldn't want your creation to suffer at all if you love them and had the power to stop it, since you do because you're a benevolent God

But anyway, I also struggle to think that someone good can go to hell. There's a woman I know with a disabled child. She has terminal cancer and will die. She's been given an awful hand as it's not just the cancer, it's the devastating impact on her disabled child's life. It's all horrific when she explains who isn't there for him, the care system, etc etc

Why does someone so lovely deserve HELL? I get Jesus is wonderful and the saviour, but why not forgive these people for their lack of belief? Surely if you loved them as much as you're suppose to, they can come into heaven because you can't stand to know an innocent person like that is damned to hell?

I just don't get those parts. And that's before being gay is immoral. I don't understand it probably because I see no issue with it, you can't switch off being gay

So, what are you suppose to do then? Just live a lie? Have awful self hatred because of it? Sounds unhealthy to me

I'd appreciate any responses from non believes and believers

The only reason I am on the fence is because I FEEL in my heart that Jesus is real. I can't think about his face and deny him. So this makes it all the more harder

Which then leads me to think I'm brainwashed

I just don't KNOW

The trouble is earth isn't heaven.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

If we were in heaven innocents would not suffer. It is the force or energy of 'evil' - everything from malevolence to decay - that makes our world so imperfect. The absence of that would be heaven.

Without the opposing force - 'God' - it is hell. With it is earth.

I imagine all the good in people working away like yeast, lightening lives, make life bigger and more palatable.

My personal view doesn’t require god to be anything. He probably isn’t very nice particularly as he is repeatedly shown as favouring a group of people, being jealous and exacting completely disproportionate punishments on his devoted followers - think Abraham and Isaac. If he exists he’s not necessarily omniscient and omnipotent. He is what he is - I believe he proclaims I am what I am in the Bible. We can’t make him being nice a condition for believing in Him. He doesn’t have to be nice or caring. He could just be some being much more powerful who spent less than a week making some nice sims and occasionally losinG his temper and locking them in the swimming pool together.

This was such a good show! It lost it's way somewhat in the middle, but the ending was quite sublime.

You think about the face of Jesus? The images that show a pale Northern European man?

IF such a man existed, he would have looked nothing like the images you see.

And that’s just for starters.

Neither heaven or hell exist - it’s just a threat to make naive people comply and worry. Nothing bad will happen to you as an atheist - life is great without religion hanging over you.

He might have looked like his Dad.

I’m a Christian. I don’t believe in hell and I am pro -gay marriage, as is every Christian I know. Not all Christians are pro-gay marriage of course, but neither are all atheists.
I believe after death everyone will meet God. We have all done things wrong in this life and have already been forgiven. We can choose to go to heaven with God or not. If we choose not, we will simply cease to exist.
It’s humans that have messed up the world mostly but somethings are sadly just nature and humans are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I'd be more worried about why the children were behaving like this in the first place, absolutely terrifying

Poor rabbit

🤣🤣🤣

I must confess, I never really liked God very much. As a little girl I was given a children’s book about the flood and Noah’s Ark, and learning that God decided to bring destruction on mankind, merely for being a little disappointing to him, not to mention allowing the vast majority of innocent animals to drown other than a hand-picked few, didn’t exactly endear me to him. I much preferred Jesus who had less main character energy about him and was more approachable in general.

You have to bear in mind that those pictures were painted a long time ago by painters hoping to appeal to those who might buy their paintings. Nowadays Jesus is depicted as a man from the Middle East.

Not quite. It’s a European patriarchal belief that persists.

As made up as most of the Bible.

I believe that Jesus was a real person and probably a very good and charismatic leader but one long dead and God is not real. God is a concept for people who need the threat of eternal damnation to motivate them to be a good person.

If God existed in the way we are told by the bible and he loved us, children would not be suffering from horrific diseases and starvation and he would not need to be worshipped to care for those he loved and forgave of their sins. If he does exist in this world as it is then he is a cruel bastard who does not deserve worship.

God is the OG narcissist demanding praise and worship and dishing out punishment if he didn't get it. Why would anyone think an eternity with that would be heaven?

I find a it of these replies rather interesting. Regarding the old testament Jesus clearly says that was to be discarded with. Jesus says in the scriptures to do a lot of things if you wish to claim to be a Christian yet most don't. It's also very clear in several scriptures of a man and woman's relationship and views on the rest. It's fine to pick and choose bible verse to suit your thinking or needs but put it all together and you have truths. Someone said if there's a god why allow all these wicked and bad things to happen? Well for example if you have a loving family and 1 son turns bad and becomes a murderer do you then blame the family upbringing for the behaviours of that one wrong child..another example you pray and get no answer yet why would you expect an answer from someone you basically have no proper relationship with other than to want help when you wish for it...the majority of human to human wouldn't help with requests if they had no relationship with you

He didn't say that

He had come to fulfill the Old Testament

However there was Peter's dream in Acts

Just think for a second what it might be like if "heaven" existed. Imagine living your life forever and ever and ever in the same place with the same people doing the same stuff for all eternity, for millions and billions of years. Suddenly it starts to sound like torture right?! Like hell?! I truly don't understand how anyone would think going to heaven is a good idea. I think the finite nature of our lives with a beginning, middle and end gives us purpose, knowing that our time alive is limited. If you live forever whats the point in doing anything?

You are claiming that this nebulous entity would only deign to help those who worship it, not those on need? It wouldn’t (indeed doesn’t) stop a small child from suffering as the child doesn’t know it needs to pay homage?

Some of us are capable of helping others who we don’t know. That’s precisely how charity works.

The god you describe is a selfish bastard.

No. I don’t think anyone visualises that one any more. There’s been a recent tv programme and he’s the face that I see at the moment!

Must say, I am hugely relieved not to believe in the god some people on here are talking about!

Except that’s the face across the majority of churches, of statues and in books. I assure you many do exactly that.

(Edit - One TV programme doesn’t change centuries of indoctrination.)

It’s total guesswork as none of you actually know.

The poor things picture keeps coming into my mind 😭😭

Where were the parents? And like you say, what on earth resulted in the children doing such a truly awful act.

Jesus might have existed - but that doesn't mean he was actually the son of god. There was 40 years I think between the actual events and the first gospel being written and for those 40 years the stories were all passed on orally. Can you imagine how the story would be changed and embellished over 40 years of telling? You also have to remember that these events happened 2000 years ago when life was completely unrecognisable to how it is now. For me religion was always about power and control and little has changed.

He definitely existed and this is recorded by Jewish and Roman historians

That might be what people see when they look at old art. That’s a bit niche though. The stuff I see shows a lot of Marys of colour, some really gorgeous modern images like that. The stained glass windows at my church are charicatures.

Actually most of the Holy family images I see are based on Palestinians at the moment.

I think you are a bit out of date with your insipid, milky Jesus image.